Veneer-taping machine



Jan. 30, 1923.

1. BLACK. VENEER mme MACHINE.

FILED JUNE IS, 1921- Z SHEETS-SHEET1.

Z 72 (/6712076' @7272 El (147i 1 Jan. 30, 1923 1,443,784.

1. BLACK.

VENEER TAPING MACHINE.

F|LED JUNE 13, I92!- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Jan. 3%, I923.

JOHN BLACK, or vIENDoImILLIIIOIs, .ASSIGNOR r0 BLACK macs. COMPANY, orMENDOTA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

VENEER-TAPING MACHINE;

Application and June 13,

T 0 all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, JOHN BLACK, a citizen of the United States, residingat Mendota, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Veneer-Taping Machines,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements intended primarily foruse on veneer taping machines of the type set forth in my Patent No.1,010,845 issued December 5, 1911, although the special features ofconstruction which form the subject matter of this application may beapplied to veneer taping machines generally.

The object of the present invention is to provide means for softeningthe glue. In the operation of veneer taping machines, it is customary,according to modern practice, to employ a strip of previously gummedpaper tape which is fed from a roll and applied under pressure to thebutt joint between the two sections of veneer, and in machines of thisclass it is essential that the gummed tape at the time of application'tothe veneer strips, shall be in proper condition to adhere firmly to thestrips after the latter are fed beyond the rolls. This necessitates aproper softening of the glue on the strip during the interval of itstravel from the tape 'roll to the pressure roller. I

In the machines in general use at the present time it is customary tomoisten theforth around a number of rolls in order to afford sufficienttime for the softening of the glue without unduly retarding the feedingspeed of the machine. This pract ce 15 objectionable since, even at thebest, It involves a comparatively slow feeding speed and complicationsin the construction of the 'machine which it is deemed desirable toavoid;

I have discovered that better results may be attained by providingmechanism whereby a blast of heated air is directed against themoistened tape at a point immediately above the point of application tothe veneer, which blast of air, properly distributed, serves to heat themoistened gummed tape, thereby instantly softening the glue to thedegree required to ensure firm adhesion to the veneer. I

The present invention is directed to the 1921. Serial no. 477,191.

means employed for securing the above results, and also to theemployment of a stream of air directed'under high pressure heatingappliances; and

Fig. 3 is a detail of the hot blast conduit.

The machine as a whole comprises a table 10 carried upon standards 11springing from a base plate 12. The table has bolted thereto anoverhanging arm 13 which, at its outward endon each side, is providedwith a forward spindle head 14 and a rear spindle head 15. The termsforward and rear have reference to the direction of feed of the veneer.t The forward spindle head carries a forward spindle-16 whichis-bifurcated at its lower endand serves to journal a center pressureroller 17, and the rear spindle head 15 carriesa spindle 18 which at itslower end provided with a cross shaft 19upon which is mounted a'pair offeed rolls 20. The forward andrear spindles are adapted tobe raised andlowered by means of hand levers 21. and suitable appliances (not shownin detail) are provided for imparting spring pressure to the Irespective rolls.

This arrangementof two rear rolls and one forward roll serves to bringthe forward pressure roll immediately above the point where the joint isformed between the two veneer sections. The veneer is fed forward bymeans of two endless feeding chains '22, the upper surfaces of whichprotrude very slightly through a slot 23 in the table so that as twosections of veneer are fed to the proper point with their edges in buttcontact, they will be gripped between the movingchains and feed rollsand carried forward under the pressure roller. In order to bring theedges of the veneer into firmbutt of the machine taping of veneersections. These general features of construction, however, are set forthin my prior patent above referred to, and it is not deemed necessary tomake further reference to same.

The feeding chains are driven through suitable connections, not shown,from a shaft 24 carrying a fast and loose pulley 25, which shaft iscarried by journal brackets 26 outstanding from the standards 11. Alongitudinally movable belt shifter 27 is provided to throw the beltfrom the fast to the loose pulley or vice versa.

The special features forming the particular subject of the presentinvention are superadded to the foregoing structure which is old and incommon use. The gummed tape is fed from a roll 28 carried by a bracket29 outstanding from the rear of the arm 13, which bracket supports awater box 30 upon which is journaled a moistening roller 31 againstwhich the gummed tape 32 impinges as it passes from the roller 28. Thetape 32 passes over an idle roller 33 and thence vertically downwardlyand under a shoe 34 supported by a bracket 35 depending from thebifurcated spindle 16. From the shoe 34 the tape proceeds under thepressure roller 37 where it is applied to the joint be tween the veneersections. During this vertical passage to the pressure roller the tapewith its gummed and moistened surface presented toward the rear passesin close proximity to the perforated facing 36 of a hot blast box 37which occupies a position intermediate the spindle heads 14 and 15.

The perforations in the facing 36 are arranged in rows, and within thebox are arranged a series of three slide dampers 37 each of which iscontrolled by means of a handle 38 protruding from the side of the hotblast box, which handles can be adjusted in or out to regulate theposition of the associated part with respect to the perforations so thatby proper adjustment of the several dampers the amount of air projectedthrough the perforations can be regulated and its point of applicationto the moving tape adjusted as may be required.

The hot blast box converges at its lower end 39 and terminates in abottom opening 40, as shown in Fig. 2. The hot blast box is secured tothe forward end of a heating shell 41 whereon are located resistancecoils conventionally indicated in Fig. 3. It is preferred to have atleast three of these coils which can be regulated by means of a switch42, whereby a greater or less amount of resistance can be thrown intothe circuit 43 in order to regulate the heat to the desired degree.

The heating chamber 41 is preferably supported upon the top of the arm13 and coinn'iunicates at its rear end with a blower pipe 44 which leadsdownwardly to a blower 45 driven from a pulley 46 on the main shaft 24,and in order to automatically cut off the electric current when themachine is not in service, the circuit for supplying the resistance coilis led through a switch 47, the moving element 48 of which is mountedupon the belt shifter 27, so that as the latter is moved the switchelement 48 will be moved into or out of contact with the switch 4?,thereby closing or opening the circuit, as the case may be.

In front of the pressure roller--that is, to the left, as indicated inFig. 2-is located a compressed air nozzle 49 which receives a supply ofcompressed air through a pipe 50 and directs the same under heavycompression against the tape at its point of emergence from under thepressure roller, and this blast of air serves to hold firmly the tapeand also assists in drying out the moisture to secure a firm adhesion ofthe glue. This feature may be employed or dispensed with as desired,since its inclusion is not es sential to the employment of the hot blastfeature previously described.

In operation, the veneer sections will be fed by the user to theslightly converging endless feed chains upon which they will be carriedforward with their edges in firm contact under the feed rollers, andthence under the pressure roller at which pointthe tape with its gummedsurface downward will be applied to the joint. The tape in its progressfrom the roll will be moistened by contact with the moistening rollerand in this moistened condition will. pass in close proximity to theblast of hot air projected from the hot air box. The force ofimpingement of the heated air serves to quickly heat the moistened gluewhich causes the moisture to instantly permeate the glue and reduce itto the sticky conditions required at the time of its application to theveneer, and the use of this method avoids the necessity of using aseries of relaying rollers to feed the tape back and forth aftermoistening for a sufficient period of time to permit softening of theglue prior to the taping operation.

The effect of swiftly moving currents of air impinging upon themoistening tape is much more instantaneous and effective than theapplication of heat which is merely radiated from a heated. surfacesince the force of impingement appears to be requisite to the securingof the best results.

I claim:

1. In a veneer taping machine, the combination of means for feeding thesections of veneer forward in edgewise relation, means for applying astrip of gummed tape to the joint between the veneer sections, means formoistening the gummed surface of the tape, and means for applying ablast of heated air to the gummed surface of the tape intermediate thepoint of moistening and the point of application to the veneer sections,substantially as described.

In aveneer taping machine, the combination of means for feeding thesections of veneer forward in edgewise relation, means for applying astrip of gummed tape to the joint between the veneer sections, means formoistening the gummed surfaces of the tape, means for applying a blastof heated air to the gummed surface of the tape intermediate the pointof moistening and the point of application to the veneer sections, andan air nozzle for directing a blast of air under pressure against thetape after application to the veneer sections, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a veneer taping machine, the combination of means for feedingforward two sections of veneer in edgewise relation, a pressure rollerfor applying pressure above the joint, means for supporting a roll ofgummed tape, means for feeding said tape from said supporting roll tothe point of application to the veneer sections, means for moisteningthe gummed surface of the tape, and means for directing a blast ofheated air against said surface after moistening in quantity andtemperature adequate to soften the gum on the tape prior to itsapplication to the veneer sections, substantially as described.

In a veneer taping machine, the combination of means for feeding forwardtwo sections of veneer in edgewise relation, a pressure roller forapplying pressure above the joint, means for supporting a roll of gummedtape, means for feeding said tape from said supporting roll to the pointof application to the veneer sections, means for moistening the gummedsurface of the tape, a hot blast box provided with a perporated wallclosely contiguous to the line of travel of the moistened tape, aheating chamber provided with heat supplying means, and a fan fordirecting a blast of air through the heating chamber and out of the hotblast box, substantially as described.

5. In a veneer taping machine, the combination of means for feeding twosections of veneer in edgewise relation, a pressure roller for applyingpressure to the joint between the sections, means for supporting, a rollof gummed tape, moistening means for applying moisture to the gummedsurface of the tape, means for directing the travel of the tape from themoistening means to the pressure roller, a hot blast box provided with aperforated wall for directing a blast of heated air against themoistened gumined surface, means for supplying heated air to the hotblast box, and means forregulating the discharge of the heated airthrough the perforations, substantially as described.

JOHN BLACK.

